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For me by far the best has be https://www.trulyergonomic.com...

I think Chris is talking about this: https://www.trulyergonomic.com...

I've wondered for a long time how nice it would be to have keys without the horizontal staggering. What deters me is the impossibility of getting the same built into a laptop.

Unfortunately, the MS 'ergo' isnt....
Staggered keys + split layout = failsauce!
https://www.trulyergonomic.com...
(i prefer kenesis advantage, but trulyergonomic.com has the best illustration of split keyboard fail)

https://www.trulyergonomic.com...
Not only is it more ergonomic than most keyboards, it's mechanical and a huge improvement in typing.
Sure it takes a few hours to get used to, but like with languages, learning your second one is much easier than your first and does not reduce your ability to use the first.
It finally gets rid of the backward and stupid staggering of keys, that was needed 70 years ago, do you still live in that time? Or in the future?
It allows the mouse to stay much closer, which is great for gaming and the main reason I got it.

You have described the Truy Ergonomic keyboard. Really, that's the brand name they picked. Not buckling spring, but still mechanical keys, noise optional (Cherry MX Blue or Brown). Not cheap at $250, but the most appealing design I've seen yet.

I did own a Kinesis Classic years ago. Crazy arrangement as Average mentions, very different. If you have RSI concerns, different is exactly what you want. I used to switch back and forth every once in a while, just to change up the motion. I can't say I ever really liked the bowl though, and I eventually gave it away (which I now regret). The real keys use the same Cherry Brown key switches as the unfortunately-named Truly Ergonomic. The rubber function "keys" are pure rubbish though.

All I want is keys laid out in columns like the Fingerworks or the Truly Ergonomic. That one change is minor, easy to adjust to, and afterwards greatly more comfortable.

Well that's not all I want. I also want it split and I want mechanical keys. I also want it backlit and I refuse to have a keyboard with a number pad. I guess there's a lot I want. I haven't found all those in one keyboard yet but today I'm happily using the Truly Ergonomic. I'm interested in the CODE 87-key keyboard but they are sold out. I recently bought a KeyCool 87 and it's pretty good but not columnar and not split.

I've been using the Truly Ergonomic ( https://www.trulyergonomic.com/ ) keyborad for well over a year now. It's totally different from a normal keyboard. I'm also using a blank-keycap one, in dvorak mode, with some personal key-changes.

I love it being different. I love the way that it's different -- columnar arrangement, tab, backspace, enter down the middle, home-row shifts, delete mirroring escape.

It took a whopping two weeks to get used to the new layout. Much like it took me two weeks to switch from qwerty to dvorak fifteen years ago. And I've no trouble bouncing back and forth to "normal" keyboards when necessary.

More important that how I feel, is how I feel. My fingers move a lot less, I type much more fluidly, I'm much more comfortable, and long days feel the same as short days.

I welcome new designs and layouts. You're not forced to use the ones that you don't like. Which is good, because otherwise I'd be forced to use a qwerty keyboard -- you know, the one designed to be horrible to use. The author might want to focus on that problem first.

I never understood why keyboards tilt backwards

I always thought it was to make keyboards look like typewriters.

If keyboards were made to be good for typing, they would look more like the Truly Ergonomic keyboard, which I own and like. It's not quite perfect, but it's pretty close and has these popular Cherry switches.

http://www.trulyergonomic.com/store/index.php

Unfortunately, this isn't a layout so much as a rather expensive, different kind of keyboard. But this is an ergonomic keyboard with mechanical switches, so it feels better than all of the rubber dome switch-based keyboard out there.

Enter, backspace, and tab are moved to the middile of the keyboard, which changes how necessary the pinkies are.

particularly the ones with Cherry switches (browns and blues). I was surprised how much I liked the Cherry blues.

In the end I decided to start with something cheap and bought a used Dell AT101, which uses Alps black mechanical switches, and I'm quite pleased. It has just the right amount of click and clack, and the actuation point feels much more definite than the Cherry Browns.

The only thing I would change about the keys on the Dell is the amount of wobble they have (its mediocre in this respect). The main thing I would change about the keyboard as a whole is to make it a compact or 'tenkeyless' layout instead of the bog standard one. The keyboard also doesn't look funny like a lot of the Asian branded mech keyboards (Filco, et al); even though I want compactness, having a bit of a border around the whole thing makes it nicer to look at. The Dell extends backward about 3 in. which I like a lot.

If I were to get a unit with Cherry keys, I would probably go with a Cherry branded one. Even though they are less solid than some of the Asian brands, I got the impression the keys are mounted and housed such that they at least sound better than the other brands with the "keys on a bare hunk of metal" construction. Otherwise, I'd choose a keyboard like this: http://trulyergonomic.com/

I was already well aware what IBM spring keyboards were like, having used them a lot back in the 90s - I like them but not for long periods of time due to the key resistance and the noise level.

http://www.trulyergonomic.com/

The layout is a bit funky, but if you can get used to it then it's a decent keyboard. I find it great for typing documents, not so good for coding.

The Truly Ergonomic Keyboard is a smaller ergonomic keyboard that currently only comes with Cherry MX Brown switches.

There are other, larger, keybards like the Maltron or Kinesis that are ergonomic with mechanical switches, but they tend to be enormous, while the "Truly Ergonomic" is similar in size to the "Happy Hacker" keyboard.

+1, get the browns if you something quiet that requires very little force to push down: http://www.trulyergonomic.com/options.html#Silent

It sounds like you are looking for this. Truly Ergonomic Keyboards